Israel Matzav

Waiting for a Turkish temper tantrum

Is Turkish Prime Minister Recept Tayyip Erdogan about to throw another temper tantrum? JPost reports that Turkey has managed to have Israel excluded from what would have been its first participation in a NATO mission. But it almost doesn't matter. Despite Turkey, NATO is on the verge of upgrading relations with Israel.

Turkey has torpedoed an Israeli plan to contribute an Israel Navy missile ship to a NATO mission in the Mediterranean Sea, in what would have been the first time Israel actively participated in one of the Western military alliance’s operations.

Diplomatic and defense officials told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that Turkey had decided to prevent Israeli participation in the long-term operation – called Active Endeavor – following the Israel Navy raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in 2010 in which nine Turkish nationals were killed.

Diplomatic officials said that ever since its success, Turkey had been seeking to scuttle greater Israeli participation in the alliance.

...

While Turkey succeeded in thwarting the navy’s participation in Active Endeavor, it has, however, failed to prevent Israel from upgrading its ties with NATO. Defense officials said this week that the sides were on the verge of signing a new cooperation agreement that would lead to a significant upgrade in relations.

As a member of the Mediterranean Dialogue, which was created in 1994 to foster ties with Middle Eastern countries, Israel is frequently invited to participate in NATO workshops and exercises.

The senior government official said, though, that the new agreement would enable Israel to participate in top NATO forums even though it is not a full-fledged member of the alliance.

Israel is also considering a request by NATO to open an office at its headquarters in Brussels. Defense officials said that the offer was still open and that it was being “positively considered” by the government.

Maybe once Obama is out of office, Israel can replace Turkey in NATO. Heh.

Labels: NATO, Turkey, Turkish obsession with Israel

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:38 AM